Really, I'm the first one here today? I hope all you early risers and insomniacs are enjoying a long and deep night's sleep.

First a cup of coffee

Okay, that's better. It's my early meeting up north day so we are up and thinking about the day ahead. We did hit the sack very early last night though so pretty rested.

I'm in countdown through crazy mode right now. Work all week including a party Wed. night and a couple of nights on the phones. Then a Saturday work event to attend (I'll flex out a half a day somewhere this week). Sunday early morning I'm off to NM to work. I still don't have my schedule and will start nagging the travel person today. DW joins me Wed. She gets to play, I work. Apparently we are done by 4 or 4:30 with just a phone check-in at 6:30 so not too bad. That next weekend DW and I are off to Socorro for 48 hours of birding fun. Monday it's back to VT. 2 days of laundry, cat petting, cleaning, cooking and holiday prep and off to my parents on the 23rd. we will come home after brunch on Christmas and enjoy a nice, relaxing week with nothing planned! Obviously New Year's Eve will be a good movie, a little decadent food (always blue cheese for me) and an early night. I can't wait!

For now though I've got a morning meeting up north and some visits along the way home. I'm putting some chili in the crockpot. I've been craving it so today is the day.

We had a wonderful time in Boston this weekend. The Nutcracker was fabulous again. The restaurant DD picked was a big hit. Lots of really good veggie options including tofu with lemongrass sauce (which I must learn to make because I so rarely see it anywhere). Then a really fun evening drinking wine and playing Balderdash. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.

Uh oh, the coffee is empty. Time for a refill. How does your week ahead look? It's such a hectic time of year for many of us. Stop by in the morning for a relaxing cup of your warm beverage of choice and take a look at the day ahead.

Good morning, everyone!

Cyndi: We're both early risers, I see! Week three, day 1 of P90X - Chest and Back. All push-ups and pull-ups. Oy.

I leave for Ireland in just over a week, probably. The tickets are bought, but my father's health may cause us to cancel the trip. I probably won't know for sure until we leave. I figure to begin packing next weekend after he arrives here in NC in advance of the trip.

May your days be filled with moderate exercise, moderate meals, and maximum joy!

I love this Good morning to you Annie of P90X fame. Hope your Dad is well and you are able to head out on your trip next week. For now though Happy Monday.

Good morning, I've been up since 4am, thought about starting the Monday thread, but made coffee. Hubby's just getting out of the shower, got to go share some coffee with him before he has to leave.

Cyndi, crockpot chili sounds extra yummy. I might pull out my crock pot tonight

Oh, I did pilates this morning, the first time I've exercised since being sick. I am tired, but feel much better

xo

Good morning! I've been busy fussing with my expresso machine, but I think I finally have it working alright.

Cyndi, a pot of chili sounds perfect for this wintery weather. I made chili for Jake yesterday, and made the mock cornbread with a veggie crumble chili for myself. We have lots of leftovers since my son and his family were at their in-laws for Hanukka, so that will be our supper tonight, too. The next week or so sounds like a flurry of activity, but I'm glad you're taking time to enjoy NM while you're there.

Annie, I'm impressed that you're still going strong and hanging in there with that P90X program! I bet you're starting to see results by now. I'm sorry about your Dad's health, and I hope he feels much better before your trip.

Beloved, I'm glad you are finally starting to recover and feeling better!

No matter how much weekend I get, I always seem to want more. This time of the year I feel like I can never get caught up with everything that needs to be done. I have a couple errands to take care of this morning before I go over to the farm for the day. The girls spent the weekend at their grandparent's, so their rooms and playroom shouldn't be in too bad shape, LOL! I'll probably have to make up a grocery list and get the shopping done, and I'll have to drive the truck to the Christmas tree farm to pick up the wreaths and pine roping Cindy ordered. The girls have piano lessons after school this afternoon, so I'll take my Kindle along so I can have a pleasant hour of reading while they're having their lessons.

Cappuccino, anyone?

Happy Monday

Cyndi - Sounds like a great time in Boston. And business until the end of the year. Now that my kids don't spend NY's eve with us, I am an "early to bed" person that night too. My poor DH.

Anni - I hope you make it on you trip. I told my husband to get me the p90x and he found a great deal on ebay that he didn't act on in time. Hmm.

Beloved - Glad you are feeling better.

Linda - I have a bit of Kindle envy. DS1 got himself one and loves it. My mom is my book supplier and she passes on hardcovers; if she ever goes electronic I'll have to do the same then.

I'm taking my old sitter shopping today at the mall. I take her out every couple of months or so and am always impressed by her spirit and life; she is in her mid-80s, legally blind (although she sees a bit), still volunteers twice a week, is so busy. Love that.

Have a wonderful day all.

Good morning. Funny that Cyndi called this Manic Monday. Mine was supposed to be manic but, after a long chat with Claire at dinner last night, I have decided it will NOT be manic. I have decided to cancel out on today's Quilting Biddies luncheon - no taco bake to make and no 10 to 3 gab-fest. It's a pot luck and I'm sure there'll be enough food. Call me anti-social but ...

So today I'll skip personals and work on a peaceful day. Some decorating and major organization will happen. There will be dog cuddling, tea sipping, snow shoveling, cheque writing, music listening, etc. - all good and necessary stuff. I also plan to make a couple of meals for Joanne who is going back to work this week. Her freezer is just jammed with sympathy foods but she needs things to put on the table quickly to feed herself and the kids. You can't live on pie, cake and banana bread.

Do something for yourself today.

Good Morning

Thanks for getting us started, Cyndi! Yes, this insomniac was getting some needed sleep-9-1/2 hrs to be exact. I had to laugh reading your post-that's some planning! You're planned out until New Years! I knew you'd have fun this weekend-now back to the grind.

Annie, your pic last night looked yummy and apparently is starting a chili craze. I second wishes that your father stays as healthy as he can, and that you are able to make your trip to Ireland. Thanks for the SBD Irish blessing.lol

BelovedK, glad to hear you're feeling good enough to get some exercise. You are on the mend!

Linda, your Monday is sounding fun. At first, I envisioned one of our "Alaska trucks" heading out for the greens, but I'm sure the truck you have to drive is much nicer! lol

Karen, I'm an early to bed New Years' person, too. I used to try...Have a nice time with the old sitter. Those excursions are the fun part of the holidays.

Ruth, GOOD FOR YOU! Enjoy!

Me, I've got an hour before heading to the pool for yoga. No skiing today-it's freezing cold. I have completed advance preparation for dinner tonight so I may head to the Habitat for Hum. furniture store today and see if they have anything interesting that I might want for my office.

Have a beachy day, everyone!

BTW-I had a laugh this morning at the Beck Forum where our Mod, BillBlueEyes posted an interesting observation,

"Boy is it ever "the season for so much food kind of 'in your face' and everywhere" - white sugar, white flour, and white lard seem to be the meaning of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, LOL "

How true! It is great motivation for me to stay out of the stuff!

good morning,

Is it really Monday? I woke up really early and both I would go back to bed for a few minutes and before I knew it, it was 8a.m.

Cyndi - Your weekend sounds great and such a busy week.

Annie - hope your dad gets better and Ireland sounds good for Christmas.

BelovedK - glad that you are feeling better.

Cottage - have a great day. Is the truck a standard.

Ruth - good for you for being anti-social for a change. And Joanne is lucky to have you as a friend. Peace.

Karen - You just have to love those feisty old ladies. One I know is 95 and still drives her own car.

Debbie - have a good one. Fun shopping for furniture.

me - well the house is decorated and I have baked for my potluck on Wednesday. I wanted to do a veggie plate but everyone is kind of expecting me to bake, will definitely stay away from the baked goods.
Have to do some cleaning today and meal planning.
I will definitely do something for myself today, Ruth.
take care
Sophie

Hi Sophie!

Good morning all! I am a sneezebucket today! We had a pretty good weekend overall. Went out to Chris' parents' on Saturday morning to help them with little odds and ends, went out to my parents' in the afternoon to pick up some oranges (Mom bought cases of them) and hung out there, got the grocery shopping done yesterday, and took Voodoo to get her picture taken with Santa yesterday afternoon. Got a pretty good pic of her, tongue hanging out of course. The photographer is supposed to email the pics to us so we have digital ones sometime this week, hopefully! We haven't scanned in the one we framed yet. I will share as soon as we have a digital copy!

I would like to report that I am down 1 lb. One whole lb. I'll take it. I did slack on the water consumption over the weekend so maybe I'll drop a little bit early on this week since I'm back at the water-guzzling.

I hope everyone has a great day today! Gotta get to a meeting!

Lisa

Good Morning Chickies! I am hurting a bit this morning, Im not necessarily beating myself up for it but I am consistently learning- you would think dieting on and off all these years I should have learned by now... But, I did ok at the party, only ate what I had planned. Then I drank a bit too much wine, still didn't eat more just went to bed... however last night a few friends wanted to go to dinner at the cheesecake factory. Oy. I <3 avocado eggrolls there and I indulged. I only ate 3 of them with the wrapper the other 3 I just dug the avocado part out. I am sure the bit of gluten affected me but possibly not as much as the fact I ate so much fried $%*&... I did stay away from the bread and I also had a greek salad which was fantastic so I know what I will be eating if I ever go there again! Oh, and I did that before WI day and I am up 4 lbs from a few days ago... back to the grindstone, I know most is just water and I need to stay 100% OP this week so I can show a loss for once!

Other than that a semi scary day here- Its the day I am making my peppermint bark to send out- I may actually wait till tomorrow and get an OP day under my belt before I do that! lol Christmasd cards definitely need to get started too... other than that the regular cleaning monday!


Cyndi- Chili sounds fantastic! I think I may have that for dinner! I may need to buy a regular crock again, I sold mine in a garage sale, it was a huge oval one, I have the mini one perfect for 2 people but not when I want lots of leftovers for things like soups and chili

Annie- Prayers for your DF, I hope your plans work out!

Cottage- Send over a shot of espresso! I could use it- when pouring the first cup I tried to put the coffee pot back in the cupboard with the coffee mugs...lol

Karen- Don't you just love being around people who have a special love for life, she sounds like a wonderful person!

Ruth- :hugs: Enjoy your day! You deserve it!

Debbie- I totally forgot about those stores, we had one in the town I used to live in I need to see if they have one here! Enjoy your day!

Sophie- Here's some for us both!

Weezle sneezle- couldn't help myself! I can't wait to see the pic of voodoo!!! Hope you feel better soon!

OK, on my second cup of joe- didn't try to put the pot in the cupboard this time- thats a good sign... covering myself in today and going to make it a 100% OP day. no more than 1200 calories! and will workout at least 30 minutes strictly workout and another 30 while doing things around the house! and drink at least 80oz of water! On to cup #3 for now, then water water water!

Rikki - When I had pneumonia in college, a friend of mine sent me the Winnie the Pooh story with "measles, wheezles, and sneezles" to help cheer me up, because he knew me as Weezle. lol They're remodeling our building at work and I think some of the dust is floating through the vents. Everyone is sneezing today!

Morning to those early birds who have already posted and to those yet to come. I've had my coffee and just got back from my walk so the rest of the day is mine to do as I please.

cyndi, OMG and I thought I was a planner. You've certainly got me beat.

Annie, sure hope your father's health allows you to take the trip. Ireland, how wonderful!

Beloved, glad you are feeling better.

Linda, I think we all have to accept the fact that there just aren't enough hours in November and December for us to accomplish all that needs to be done.

Karen and Ruth

Lex, I'm so jealous of you and that pool.

Sophie, I'm impressed that you can bake and stay away from it. Not sure I'm there yet.

Lisa, Congrats on your pound. Hey, I'll take one pound any day of the week and be a happy camper.

Nat, we all miss you and hope the trip and move are going just fine.

It was just misting rain during my walk this morning with a little wind. Nice though. There is an irrigation ditch at the top of my "hill" and I stop there to catch my breath before continuing on. The water is usually clear and sometimes there will be a leaf floating downstream which is so peaceful but this morning the water was muddy from last night's rain so wasn't as nice. Very quiet out though, guess most folks were already on their way to work or still tucked in at home. Well time for me to get on with the rest of my day. Got to run to the post office and get a few groceries (seems like I go much more often now as fruits and vegs don't last as long as what I used to eat)

Later

Nothing much going on today except a doc's appointment at my psychiatrist. Looking forward to a Jets win in MNF, so no Patriots fans allowed to comment on my post, hee hee hee, j/k!